Indonesia has accused the European Union of discrimination against its palm oil exports (AFP Photo/Mohd RASFAN) |
Indonesia has filed a World Trade Organization lawsuit against the European Union over plans to phase out palm oil-based biofuel for cars, the trade ministry said.
The action
could escalate a trade dispute between Indonesia -- the world's top palm oil
producer - and the EU, which plans to end its use of biofuels by 2030, citing
concerns over widespread deforestation caused by the sector.
The EU
earlier imposed duties on imports of subsidised biodiesel from Indonesia saying
it was needed to level the playing field for its producers.
In response
to what it called "discriminative" policies against its key palm oil
exports, Indonesia said it filed a complaint with the WTO last week.
"Indonesia
officially sent a request for consultation on December 9, 2019 to the EU as the
initial step for the lawsuit," Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said in a
statement Sunday.
Neighbouring
Malaysia, the world's second-biggest palm oil producer, has also threatened WTO
action against the EU.
Teresa Kok,
the minister overseeing Malaysia's palm oil sector, told AFP on Monday that she
will head to Europe in March, and a challenge will not be filed until after
then.
She said
she wanted to try to convince European officials to change course on her trip.
"I
want to give my trip a chance and see whether I can avoid filing the case at
the WTO," she added.
Palm oil is
the world's most widely used vegetable oil and a key ingredient in a wide range
of products from food to cosmetics.
But
environmentalists say it drives deforestation, with huge swathes of Southeast
Asian rainforest logged in recent decades to make way for palm plantations.
Iman
Pambagyo, Indonesia's director general for international trade negotiations,
said Jakarta had previously tried other bilateral avenues to reach an
agreement, without success.
"We
need to assert Indonesia's stance on EU policy," Pambagyo said, referring
to the WTO complaint, and adding that he hoped for a "best solution".
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